The present invention relates to the suppression of gas turbine engine noise, and more particularly to aero-engine exhaust jet noise reduction.
Noise has been a significant negative factor associated with the commercial airline industry since the introduction of the aircraft gas turbine engine. Considerable effort has been directed toward quieting aircraft engines.
Aero-engine exhaust jet noise is a dominant noise source of aircraft gas turbine engines at high power settings, for example, during a flight take-off operation. Jet noise is not generated within the gas turbine engine, but is caused by turbulence resulting from large velocity gradients produced by viscous shearing of rapidly moving gases exhausted into the relatively quiescent surrounding atmosphere at the boundary between the exhaust gases and the atmosphere. Since the acoustic gas power is exponentially related to the velocity of the exhaust gases, that is, proportional to V8, decreasing the velocity of the exhaust gases prior to discharge into the atmosphere substantially reduces the intensity of the jet noise.
In comparison with the early turbo engines, modern gas turbine engines have reduced the jet noise significantly. Many types of modern gas turbine engines are of the mixed flow variety, wherein a primary fluid stream is mixed with a secondary fluid stream prior to discharge of the exhaust fluid into the atmosphere, as a common thrust-producing mixed flow fluid stream. Generally, the primary fluid stream is the high velocity, high temperature exhaust gases flowing from the turbine stage of the core engine and the secondary fluid stream is air or gas at a lower temperature and velocity, for example, from the engine fan stage through an annular bypass duct surrounding the core engine. As is well known in the art, such a mixed flow has two beneficial effects. First, engine thrust is improved since the mixed gases have a higher mass-velocity product than that of the turbine exhaust gases alone. Secondly, the noise level is reduced since the exhaust mixed gases have a lower velocity than the velocity of the turbine exhaust gases. Arrangements for mixing the core engine exhaust gases with bypass flow are well known in the art. One type of the prior art mixing apparatus, for example, includes a generally tubular mixer section having a plurality of axially extending circumferentially spaced lobes or corrugations of increasing radial dimensions relative to the mixer length. These lobes effectively increase the peripheral length of the mixing boundary formed at the mixer section exit plane to thereby provide more efficient mixing, and hence, lower jet noise. Such mixers are employed within jet engine exhaust nozzles, particularly utilized within a bypass pipe turbofan gas turbine engine. One example of the prior art mixing apparatus is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,077,206, issued to Ayyagari on Mar. 7, 1978. The gas turbine mixer apparatus described by Ayyagari further includes acoustically absorbent material mounted along the crests of the axially extending mixer lobes and in the inter-lobal regions to reduce the overall engine noise level, including the low frequency core noise and the high frequency fan noise imbedded in the exhaust gases.
Although prior art mixers are effective in reducing the overall jet noise, the prior art mixers generally are used with gas turbine engines having a long cowl nacelle which extends downstream of a core engine exhaust end, so that the mixing action generally occurs within the nacelle duct at the downstream end section. It is not popular to use the prior art mixers with gas turbine engines having a short cowl nacelle because the core engine extends downstream of the nacelle outlet and the air flow discharged from the bypass duct is mixed with unbounded air before reaching the core engine exhaust end.
The viscous shearing of the rapidly moving exhaust gases, even after being mixed with bypass duct air flow by the mixer, discharged into the relative quiescent surrounding unbounded air, still produces a turbulence region immediately downstream of the exhaust end of the gas turbine engine, effectively, about a longitudinal length of up to 20 times the diameter of the exhaust end of the gas turbine engine. This turbulence region produces the substantial portion of exhaust jet noise and is called the jet noise contribution volume. There is always a need for a better mixing of engine exhaust gases to reduce the jet noise contribution volume, thereby resulting in exhaust jet noise reduction.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,786,016, issued to Presz, Jr. et al. on Nov. 22, 1988 discloses a casing surrounding a fluid stream over which an unbounded fluid flows in a downstream direction having a plurality of alternating, adjoining troughs and ridges in its external surface, extending in the downstream direction to a thin trailing edge of the casing, which will thereby have a wave-like shape. According to Presz, Jr. et al. this type of casing structure which can be applied to both long cowl nacelle and short cowl nacelle gas turbine engines and, to both a nacelle outlet and a core engine exhaust nozzle, is used to prevent or reduce the area of streamwise two-dimensional boundary layer separation on the external surface of the casing, and therefore to reduce the surface drag. Presz, Jr. et al. does not disclose any noise reduction effect of the casing structure. Nevertheless, the wave-like shaped casing structure is similar to the prior art mixers and promotes the mixing of the fluid flow discharged from the casing with the surrounding unbounded air. Thus, the wake-like shaped casing structure will reduce exhaust jet noise as well, when formed as an air end section of a gas turbine engine nacelle or the exhaust end of the core engine. U.S. Pat. No. 4,934,481, issued to Freidrich on Jun. 19, 1990 discloses a controllable device for suppressing jet engine noise. According to Freidrich, a plurality of vanes are provided around the cowl of the engine in the region of the exhaust nozzle and are movable between a retracted position in which they are lying close to the cowl, and an extended position in which they are spaced apart from the cowl so that, together with the cowl, the extended vanes define a substantially annular duct. One or more nozzles beneath each vane directs high pressure air into the annular duct in a direction towards the rear of the engine so that the air leaving the duct creates a zone of accelerated and turbulent air surrounding the exhaust gases from the engine and this reduces the noise caused by the engine exhaust. The apparatus includes moving parts which are relatively expensive to manufacture and maintain.
In order to reduce high frequency exhaust jet noise, Larson et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 4,284,170, issued on Aug. 8, 1981 discloses the use of spacing asymmetrical inwardly facing tabs around the periphery of an inner pipe of a fan jet engine having an outer pipe extending beyond the inner pipe to destroy coherence of the unsteady pressure field occasioned, when the co-annular flow streams are discharged from the respective inner and outer pipes to commingle.
It is desirable to develop more effective new and alternative devices for aero-engine exhaust jet noise reduction. It is also desirable to have new and alternative devices for aero-engine exhaust jet noise reduction that are simple to manufacture and maintain, and applicable to different types of gas turbine engines.
It is one object of the present invention to provide an assembly for effectively suppressing aero-engine exhaust jet noise.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a gas engine exhaust jet noise reduction assembly that is simple to manufacture and maintain.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a gas engine exhaust jet noise reduction assembly applicable to gas turbine engines having either a short cowl nacelle or a long cowl nacelle.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a device to enhance mixing of the engine exhaust gases with surrounding fluid flow.
It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a method of enhancing the mixing of engine exhaust gases with a surrounding fluid flow for reducing a jet noise contribution volume of the engine exhaust gases to suppress gas turbine engine noise.
In general terms, according to the present invention, a gas engine exhaust jet noise reduction assembly is provided for a gas turbine engine having an exhaust end which comprises an exhaust shroud having a tubular wall extending between a forward and an aft end adapted to be affixed to the gas turbine engine exhaust end for discharging engine exhaust gases without substantial blockage thereto; and further comprises perforations formed in the shroud wall for fluid communication between regions at both sides of the shroud wall, thereby resulting in fluid flow across the shroud wall to enhance mixing of the engine exhaust gases with a surrounding fluid air. It is preferable that the aft end of the shroud includes a trailing edge deviated from a straight line in a circumferential direction of the tubular wall, such as a tooth trailing edge. The tooth trailing edge effectively increases the peripheral length of the mixing boundary, and is preferably in an asymmetrical pattern to destroy the coherence of the unsteady pressure field when the engine exhaust gases and the surrounding fluid flow commingle.
In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, a gas turbine engine of a fan bypass type includes a core engine and a short nacelle surrounding the core engine defining, in combination with the core engine, an annular bypass fluid passage resulting in a bypass fluid flow surrounding core engine exhaust gases, to improve thrust and reduce jet noise. The core engine extends downstream of an outlet of the short nacelle. An exhaust shroud having a perforated tubular wall extending between a forward end and an aft end is affixed to a core engine exhaust nozzle for discharging the engine exhaust gases, without substantial blockage thereto. The perforations through the shroud wall communicate the regions at both sides of the shroud wall to permit fluid flow across the perforated shroud wall under pressure differences between the inside and the outside of the shroud, so that the engine exhaust gases are better mixed with the surrounding fluid flow which is substantially the bypass fluid flow. The bypass fluid flow discharged from the outlet of the annular bypass duct is first mixed with surrounding unbounded air because the nacelle duct is shorter than the core engine. Nevertheless, the longitudinal length from the outlet end of the nacelle to the exhaust nozzle end of the core engine is limited and the diameter of the bypass duct is relatively large so that the bypass fluid flow is not completely mixed with the surrounding unbounded air within the limited distance. Therefore, the fluid flow surrounding the engine exhaust gases is substantially the bypass fluid flow.
In accordance with another embodiment of the present invention a gas turbine engine of a fan bypass type includes a core engine and a long nacelle surrounding the core engine defining, in combination with the core engine, a annular bypass fluid passage so that a bypass fluid flow surrounds a core engine exhaust flow to improve thrust and reduce jet noise. The long nacelle extends downstream of a core engine exhaust end so that the core engine exhaust flow is mixed with the bypass fluid flow within the nacelle duct at the downstream end section, to form the engine exhaust gases to be discharged from the outlet of the nacelle. Similar to the embodiment described above, provided is an exhaust shroud having a perforated tubular wall extending between a forward end and aft end. Nevertheless, instead of being affixed to the core engine exhaust nozzle, this exhaust shroud is affixed to an outlet of the nacelle to enhance the mixing of the engine exhaust gases that include a mixture of the core engine exhaust fluid and the bypass fluid flow, with surrounding unbounded air.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention a method for suppressing gas turbine engine exhaust jet noise is provided, which comprises: providing a perforated tubular structure adapted to be affixed to an exhaust end of the gas turbine engine to discharge engine exhaust gases axially through the tubular structure without substantial blockage thereto, thereby creating pressure differences between regions inside and outside of the perforated tubular structure and causing radial fluid flow across the perforated tubular structure through the perforations, resulting in enhanced mixing of the engine exhaust gases with a surrounding fluid flow to reduce a jet noise contribution volume of the engine exhaust gases.
The mixing of the engine exhaust gases with the surrounding fluid flow is preferably further enhanced by a trailing edge of the tubular structure. The trailing edge is deviated from a straight line in a circumferential direction of the tubular structure.
The gas engine exhaust jet noise reduction assembly according to the present invention effectively enhances the mixing of the engine exhaust gases with surrounding fluid flow and therefore reduces the jet noise contribution volume of the engine exhaust gases, which directly results in aero-engine exhaust jet noise reduction. The assembly does not include any moving parts and is very simple and economical to manufacture and maintain.
Other advantages and features of the present invention will be better understood with reference to the preferred embodiments described below.